


Must Be A Circus In Town

by LaPetiteLouve



Series: Familia Ante Omnia [3]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Violence, Pack Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:56:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21542047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaPetiteLouve/pseuds/LaPetiteLouve
Summary: It's a full moon, and the pack convinces Jonny to go for a run outside.  It gets cut short when they encounter rogues.  But it doesn't matter, the pack always survives.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Familia Ante Omnia [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1549498
Comments: 7
Kudos: 36





	Must Be A Circus In Town

**Author's Note:**

> note: minor violence. Jonny and the pack encounter rogue wolves and duke it out. Obviously the pack wins. It's pretty tame violence, there's a little blood mention, but it's not super explicit. Uh yeah. Title from HUDSON's Heathens remix

Jonny dropped on the couch, protein shake in hand. He flipped the TV on and upped the volume on the news. He sipped his shake and followed along with the TV. He tore his gaze away from the screen as Kaner plopped down next to him. 

“Good practice today, huh?” he said quietly. 

Jonny nodded, his free hand finding its way to the nape of Kaner’s neck to toy with the damp curls. “Hey,” he pointed to the screen with his shake. “Increase in wolf violence in Detroit and here. Think we should keep the pack in tonight?”

“Nah, it’s in the suburbs. Tonight’s a full moon. No one knows we’re here. It’s part of the wolf union and the league. Secret, nondisclosed housing to run. It’s been good so far,” Kaner shrugged. 

“Full moon should be more reason to stay in. Lotta crazy people out there,” Jonny muttered. 

Kaner snorted. “Antisocial ass. The only thing tomorrow is a practice. Let the pups run tonight. It’ll be fine.” 

Jonny wrinkled his nose. “I know, but one night in won’t hurt.”

Kaner sighed patiently. “The schedule lined up perfectly. We all know the shift on a full moon is a myth, but it’s not a secret that we like to run on full moons. It’s fun. It brings the pack together a little tighter. There’s thirteen of us."

“Oh God,” Jonny sighed. “You’re not helping your case.”

“So? You’re not superstitious. What brought this on?” Kaner asked. “Listen, if you wanna put up with the kids whining about it, then we’ll stay in The Den.”

“Dacher loves me too much to whine,” Jonny chuckled.

“Fucking rookie crushes,” Kaner scoffed. 

Jonny shoved at him. “As if you never had any–hey, I was watching that,” he protested when Kaner switched channels. 

“No, you weren’t,” Kaner cockily claimed. He settled against Jonny’s side, thigh to thigh, shoulder to shoulder. Always together, rarely apart. Never one, without the other. 

Alex wandered into the living room, looking at something on his phone. He glanced at them and gazed at the TV, unfazed. “Oh, Lightning and Stars?” He sat in an arm chair, hugging a pillow to his chest. “Are we watching to watch or picking apart the Stars now.”

“Eh, just watching. Knowing us, we’ll end up picking it apart. Probably will run through tape again before the game,” Kaner scratched at his chin. “Where is everybody?”

“Boqs and Dacher are playing video games with Brinksy and Stromer,” Alex said. “Went to call Willy,” he waved his phone around. “Can we run tonight?”

“Yes,” Kaner said quickly. “Yes, we’ll run tonight. All thirteen of us. Underneath the bright, full moon. Gonna find some black cats too. And break a mirror.”

“Ignore him, he’s being a little shit,” Jonny sighed coolly. 

Alex raised an eyebrow at them and slowly returned his focus to the game. The front door opened and slammed shut. 

“Sounds like the Mutt’s home,” Jonny said offhandedly. True to his word, Shawzy bounded into the living room, full of energy and classic Shawzy vibrancy. 

“Is there a difference between toque and beanie?” Shawzy questioned when Saader trailed in. 

“Yes, a toque is better,” Jonny nodded, ignoring the sharp elbow from Kaner. “That’s a penalty for a reason.”

“It’s a beanie in the US. And guess what? Chicago is in the US. It’s okay guys, geography’s not for everyone,” Kaner chirped, shaking his head sympathetically. “Home of the free, land of the brave.”

“Told you,” Saader snorted. “You’re outnumbered here, Shawzy.”

Shawzy squawked indignantly. “You’re outnumbered. I’m Canadian, Jonny’s Canadian, Duncs and Seabs are Canadian! The kids are Canadian! Drake and Stromer are Canadian–“

“Are Cags and Stromer not part of the kids?” Jonny turned to Kaner. 

“Technically everyone’s a kid,” Kaner shrugged. “Except for maybe Duncs and Seabs. Hey, Shawzy. Go bicker somewhere else. The adults are trying to watch.”

Shawzy and Saader flipped him off. No matter how much they argued over trivial things, they could also band together against someone else. 

“Don’t wear yourselves out too much, we’re going running tonight,” Jonny called after them. He settled into the couch and dropped an arm around Kaner, quietly observing the live game in comfortable silence. 

“We’re going out first!” Drake called, Boqs and Dacher trooping out after him. 

“Stay safe–and they left already,” Jonny shook his head, scrubbing the plate with the sponge. “Thanks for helping with the dishes, Saader, you coulda left them to me and shifted with the pack.”

“It’ll go quicker,” Saader shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like they’d leave without us.”

“Haven’t even left the house yet,” Jonny acknowledged. He glanced at the floor as a nose prodded the back of his knee. Jonny wiped a hand on his jeans and stroked the patch on Stromer’s nose, where the color changed from brown to white. “We’re almost done. Go round up the pack in the living room, eh?”

Stromer barked once and trotted away. 

Jonny smiled. “Guess the full moon makes everyone antsy, eh?” he wiped his hands as Saader stacked the last plate in the drying basket. “Go shift,” he nudged Saader towards the living room. He checked the kitchen again and strode over to the living room, navigating around the many wolves. “Let’s go boys!” he shimmied out of his jeans and pried his shirt off, dumping both in the basket in the corner. His wolves gathered by the back door, yapping and ready to run. “Hey, stay in the patio area for everyone, then we’ll fan out and spend the night in The Burrow.” He slid the door open, unleashing the wolves. He counted them as they passed, mentally subtracting three to count for the trio who left earlier. He closed the door behind him and shifted. Jonny shook out light brown fur and relaxed, surrounded by pack. Jonny perked up at the sound of harried barking. He looked towards the tree line, in time to catch a gold and brown mottled wolf sprinting towards them. _“Drake!”_

Drake sprinted towards them and skidded to a stop. He pressed himself to the ground in front of Jonny. He whimpered, tail tucked under his body, ears flat against his head. 

Jonny nuzzled him gently, frowning when he realized Drake was shaking. _“What’s wrong? What happened?”_

_“Trouble! Northwest border! Kirby and Adam, rogue wolves. They’re holding them hostage. There’s blood on the ground, I can’t tell whose. I’m so sorry Jonny, they outnumbered us, I tried to protect them,”_ Drake whined. 

Jonny saw red. He snarled angrily. 

_“We gotta get them Jonny,”_ Seabs announced. The pack chattered in agreement. _“They’re our rookies!”_

_“We have to be careful. They outnumber three. Granted we’re thirteen, but we still need to be careful,”_ Duncs added, russet fur vibrant around the shades of gold and brown. 

_“They’re stepping on our turf, they’re waging a war against us!”_ Shawzy yowled, jogging in place. 

Jonny snarled once more, fur bristled, tail held high. _“Enough! I’m offended you think I’m just going to let these rogues hurt us and walk all over our territory. You all agreed on me as Pack Alpha for more reasons than me being made Captain. Now, we’re going to get our pups and we’re going to do so. Rationally!”_ he barked. He turned to Drake. _“Do you remember how many?”_

_“Five, but they’re might be more,”_ Drake answered. 

_“Northwest. Okay, I want Seabs and Saader to approach from the west and Duncs and Shawzy to approach from the north. Circle them, but don’t let them see you. The rest with me. No one does a thing, until I say so,”_ Jonny ordered. _“Let’s go.”_ The pack split. Jonny led the pack towards the northwest border. He sprinted through the territory, trees and bushes passed in blurs. His vision narrowed, succumbing to the anger, to the violence roiling beneath his fur. Kaner’s pale fur glimmered in the corner of his eye. 

_“Whatever happens, we have to get them back,”_ Kaner barked. 

_“We’re going to. And they’re going to hurt for it,”_ Jonny seethed. He caught a whiff of their pungent scents and slowed to a stop. He exhaled and nudged his way between the foliage, approaching the territory markers. Five wolves, two of them pinning Dacher and Boqs to the ground, digging their claws in their shoulders. Blood littered the ground. Jonny surveyed his rookies.

Dacher whined softly, bleeding from a scratch on his shoulder and bites on his flank. He struggled against the ground, whimpering softly when a paw pressed into the scratch. 

Boqs looked okay, a nasty bite to his front paw and scratches along his side. Blood stained the cream-colored fur. He growled at the wolf holding him down.

Jonny swallowed a snarl and approached the gray wolf. _“Gentlemen. Good evening. How about you let my wolves go and I might be more inclined to chat. There’re five of you and more of us. And you’ve already made my pack merciless by hurting those two,”_ he nodded towards Dacher and Boqs. _"So I suggest you show me a bit of kindness and I might be inclined to do the same.” _

The gray wolf bristled. _“Number doesn’t always beat size. I spooked your wolf by growling at him.”_

_“As far as I’m concerned, pack is pack. And you, well, you just hurt all of us,”_ Jonny growled. _“I’ll ask again. Politely, give me back my pups and I’ll let you go, or don’t and see what happens.”_

_“You can’t attack us, legal packs are bound by the law,”_ the Alpha laughed. _“I want your territory. All of it. Otherwise the two brats get it.”_

_“What are you, stupid or something?”_ Kaner snarked. _“Are you really that fucking dumb that you misinterpreted the entirety of the laws regarding wolves?”_

_“Did you really think your band of five could take on a pack?”_ Jonny questioned. _“Did you really think I wouldn’t have thought about this? My wolf was smart. You probably lunged at them, caught them off guard. He had good instinct, instead of risk worse injury, he ran back to bring the pack. Smart. He did good,” Jonny recounted conversationally. “I like to think we’re a smart crew, you’ve definitely proven our intelligence to us, by your brash and… unrefined tactics. So yeah, you might have had the edge when it comes to three young wolves. Let’s see how you fair with us.”_ Jonny rushed forwards and knocked his shoulder against the gray wolf. He looked around as Seabs flew out of the bush, knocking the pale yellowish wolf off Dacher. 

_“Kirby, Adam!”_ Kaner barked. He sprinted towards them and pushed them out of the way, back towards the territory, towards safety. _“Dyl! Take them back!”_ Kaner yelped as a fawn colored wolf clamped his jaw in his shoulder. 

_“Pat!”_ Jonny roared. He lunged for the fawn colored wolf and dug his claws and fangs into flesh. 

The wolf howled in pain., scrambling against Jonny’s hold. Jonny growled, metallic blood filling his mouth. He closed his eyes and bit harder. Harder. 

_“Jonny, let them go,”_ Kaner whispered in his ear. He sounded distant, softer than the blood rushing in his ears and the pure brutality in Jonny's veins. _“Let them go, you’ll kill them. Let them go.”_

Jonny released the wolf and shoved him away, blood dripping down his chin. He approached the gray wolf. _“You come here again. You show up anywhere near us. I will not let go. Oh, and brush up on your legal matters. Fucking pathetic. Fucking go.”_ He watched in distaste as the five wolves sprinted away, tails tucked between their legs. _“We all here?”_ he asked. 

_“Wait, so what’s the law with packs?”_ Alex asked, licking at a shallow cut on his hind leg. 

_“Established packs don’t get involved with the law unless there’s a murder. Natural law precedes the laws of man until either an extremity, such as a death, is involved or a human is involved,”_ Duncs recited. _“Let’s go home.”_

_“Kirby,_ _Adam!”_ Jonny glanced around frantically. 

_“It’s okay! Jonny. Jonny! They’re okay. They made it out, they made it out,”_ Kaner soothed, pressing himself against Jonny. _“We got them. Everyone’s okay.”_

_“Yeah Jonny, the worst injuries are only minor cuts that’ll heal by the end of tonight,”_ Seabs reassured. _“You did good. Let’s go home.” _

Jonny nodded numbly and trailed after his pack. _“Let’s go. Head immediately for The Den.”_

Jonny made his rounds. He made sure to check in with everyone and check their injuries. Seabs was right, the worst of it were scratches that would heal by morning. He dished out ice packs, wet cloths and bandages. Probably overkill, but he needed that reassurance. Needed to know his pack was okay. He scanned The Den, some human, some wolves, all thirteen. Brinks, Stromer, Saader, Kuba, Duncs and Alex made it out unscathed. Kaner took a mouth to the shoulder. Seabs and Shawzy had a few scratches. Physically, Drake seemed okay. Except, he was sitting by himself, head in his hands. Jonny didn’t like that. He approached Drake and dropped a hand on his shoulder. “Talk to me.”

“I let them get hurt,” Drake whispered. “Fuck, they jumped us and I just… ran. It should’ve been me.”

“Stop. Everyone will heal, everyone will live. You did good today,” Jonny combed his fingers through Drake hair. “Do you trust me?”

Drake looked up, brow furrowed. “What? Jonny, of course!”

“Then you know you did good, coming back to get us. We’re strong individually, but stronger as a whole. Relax. Go find someone to cuddle with. Go,” he encouraged. 

Drake stood up and smiled minimally, before making his way over to Kuba, Saader and Duncs. 

Jonny watched him curl up with them before looking for Kaner. He grinned when he noticed that Kaner had claimed his own mattress, Kirby and Adam tucked under an arm. He approached them and knelt on the mattress. “Let’s get the rookies in the middle, huh?”

Kirby grinned and gently climbed over Kaner, nestling himself between Adam and Jonny. 

Jonny rubbed his thumb in circles on Kirby’s neck, feeling the thick fur that almost resembled his. He traced the patches of tan fur, surrounded by black. “How are you doing? Are you okay?”

Kirby chuffed and nosed at his bicep. He smiled and offered a small lick in thanks. 

Jonny smiled and ran his hand through the fur. “Sleep, get some rest.” He kept stroking Kirby’s fur until his eyes closed. Jonny met Kaner’s gaze, after Kaner successfully coaxed Adam to sleep. “They’ll be okay?”

“They’ll be fine,” Kaner promised. “We’re pack.” He traced patterns in Adam’s fur absently. “And you? You okay after going berserk?” 

“I didn’t hold him for that long,” Jonny scoffed quietly. 

Kaner raised an eyebrow. “We called your name for like, five minutes straight before I had to step in.”

“He hurt you. That shit doesn’t fly with me,” Jonny growled. 

Kaner reached over the sleeping rookies and interlocked their hands. “Thank you. C’mon, let’s get some rest. Stromer, Brinksy, don’t stay up too late,” Kaner gently called across the room. He yawned silently, blue eyes fluttering shut.

Jonny stared at their hands, at their arms spread out over the two wolves. Finally, peace returned. Jonny calmed enough. His pack will move on, this will be a memory of the past. The pack always survives.

**Author's Note:**

> I know Boqs is an IceHog rn. Do I care? Hehe, nope. As usual, leave a comment if you have feedback/ideas. Or if you wanna talk. :P


End file.
